paczkis and a brief lesson in Lent

Happy Fat Tuesday ya'll!

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent--the season leading up to Easter for Christians.

As Catholics we are marked with ashes on Ash Wednesday, as a reminder of our journey toward conversion and renewal. We Catholics abstain from certain things and sometimes give things up as a reminder of conversion, but also to aid us in letting go of things which get in the way of God in our lives. Lent is all about working towards renewing our commitment to our faith and baptism.

I like the idea of Lent, but it always feels like a spiritually fitful time for me, a dark time, made worse by the fact that I am so damn stir crazy for spring...yet, as I get older I am trying to focus on how all of those feelings make Easter day and springtime so much more glorious.

So, today--pre-Lent--we celebrate. Fat Tuesday means paczkis in the MidWest (and other parts of the country). Fat Tuesday means enjoying one last hoorah before the time of moderation and abstinence begins, so today I introduced my sister-in-law (who is Canadian) to her first paczkis; strawberry jam filled deliciousness--so good, and so fattening that I just had to remark, "this is why I only eat these once a year!"

So, if you haven't yet, go get your paczkis on! Happy Fat Tuesday. For more info on paczkis--here.

Comments

Brett Minor said…
You have made me hungry. I have never heard of paczkis, but now I am going to find one.
February 21, 2012 at 12:12 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

eggnog with lighter fluid and other cherished Christmas memories

Image
I started digging to find my favorite Christmas-esque scenes/lines from movies and I was pleased with what I found. In spirit of my 14's lists, here goes: 1. Charles De Mar: "Ah, come on! It's Christmas Eve! I could be home right now, drinking this *monster* eggnog my brother makes with lighter fluid." ~ Better Off Dead I also love the present opening scene on Christmas day, where his mother is dressed like a reindeer, his father gets an ardvark jacket and the kids get freezer dinners. Pan out to the neighbors Christmas when the French foreign exchange student gets a framed picture of Ricky. I LOVE THIS MOVIE! 2. When Zuzu says to George Bailey, "Look, daddy! Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an Angel gets his wings." George quietly agrees, "Attaboy, Clarence," as "Auld Lang Syne" rings out. That scene makes me cry everytime. (I also love that if George had never been around, Mary became a spinster librarian--see pic) ~ It's a W
Read more

sample retirement acceptance letter

Image
The hardest part of being the Director in a small library is that we don't have an HR person, so on top of everything else we do we also get to do the paperwork for the new hires, and retires. Thank God for the internet or these processes would take a lot longer!  One of my board members pointed out that though I'd been informed of staff retirements, I had to officially accept them with a letter...I am finding that a paper trail is an important thing. So, I found a short and simple letter on one university's HR website (sorry forgot which!?) and honed it to work for us. Attached is my sample of a retirement letter.  Is anyone else out there going through this process too?
Read more

"howl the eternal yes"

Image
Just read a CNN article this morning about the Aurora Borealis making an appearance. It reminded me of Northern Exposure and Chris the DJ. So, thought I would share a quote as I reminisce about the Aurora Borealis, a.k.a. The Northern Lights, which I saw my first year at the Farm in Massachusetts, which I actually saw on my 23rd birthday!--the best birthday present I ever got!! "There's a dark side to each and every human soul. We wish we were Obi-Wan Kenobi, and for the most part we are, but there's a little Darth Vader in all of us. Thing is, this ain't no either-or proposition. We're talking about dialectics, the good and the bad merging into us. You can run but you can't hide. My experience? Face the darkness. Stare it down. Own it. As brother Nietzsche said, being human is a complicated gig. So give that ol' dark night of the soul a hug. Howl the eternal yes!" ~ Chris, Northern Exposure, "Aurora Borealis (A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups).” It feel
Read more